AURORA — The gunman didn't say a word Sunday as he unsuccessfully tried to shoot one member of New Destiny Christian Center with a malfunctioning pistol. Then, as Josephine Echols approached, the gun fired, killing the pastor's 67-year-old mother.

The reasons behind the bizarre, violent action of 29-year-old Kiarron Parker may not ever be known, Aurora police spokesman Frank Fania said Tuesday.

Parker was shot and killed by an off-duty Denver police officer, Antonio Milow, who was a member of the church and happened to be armed.

Had Milow not been there "it certainly could have been a lot worse," Fania said.

The Rev. DeLono Straham, the pastor at New Destiny, said his mother was shot five times before Millow — who is his cousin — shot and killed Parker.

"It's very possible we may never know what made him jump out of that car with a gun," he said.

Parker has a lengthy criminal record, but not a violent one, Fania said, and he was not known to police as a gang member.

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Police had not determined Tuesday whether the gun Parker used was registered to him, and Fania said he was not sure if the Parker's previous felony arrests had held up in court, which could have prevented him from carrying a gun legally.

Parker's previous arrests include drug possession and illegal possession of a weapon, according to Colorado Bureau of Investigation records.

According to records, Parker went by the aliases Littlesnoop and Lilsnoop and has been arrested more than 25 times since 2000 in the metro area, most recently on Feb. 1 for driving without a license.

Investigators hope toxicology explains Parker's behavior.

"But that's no guarantee, either," Fania said

A friend who had been with Parker a short time before the shooting told police Parker began acting irrationally, and the friend was concerned enough to follow Parker as he sped away on city streets and down an alley, until he crashed outside the church.

The friend, however, did not know why Parker became upset in the first place, Fania said.

"She (Echols) was going to just help him, and he started shooting," said Straham. "She was a woman who was a gamer; she was always looking to go help someone."

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